LOS ANGELES – The Clippers got off to a sluggish start against Sacramento on Saturday, but it’s not how you start, but how you finish in today’s NBA. Led by J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford, Los Angeles scored 42 points in the second quarter and came back to beat the Kings 126-99 for their fourth straight victory.
“For me it just takes one shot to get going,” said Crawford after the game. “It could be a free throw or anything, just to see the ball go through the net. I have great teammates who always give me confidence. I try not to get too high or too low.”
Redick and Crawford combined for 47 points and Austin Rivers added 28 points to cap off his best game to-date in a Clippers uniform and his career-high in the NBA.
“I love New Orleans, but I just did not fit in there as well as I do here,” said Rivers about his career-high in scoring. “I fit in great. It is just a great situation for me. I just try to go out there, play hard, and bring energy. Now I just go out there and be aggressive on both ends, and everything else just kinds of comes to me.”
DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 15 rebounds in only 20 minutes of action and Chris Paul had 10 points and 9 assists. The two stars sat out most of the 4th quarter as the Clippers lead 97-65 at the end of the third quarter.
“Anytime everybody can get rest, especially with Blake [Griffin] being out, that’s big for our team,” said Jordan. “For our second unit to get in there and get legit minutes tonight and everybody get their rhythm is big for us.”
Los Angeles trailed by 10 points in the first quarter, but erupted for 42 points in the second, and never trailed again as they went into the half up by 19. The Clippers are now 4-1 without their star, Blake Griffin, who is sidelined with a staph infection in his right elbow.
“In the first quarter we did not play very well,” said head coach Doc Rivers. “We did not move the ball well, and they were scoring on us. Fortunately the second unit came in and changed the game for us. Once that happened, the starters came back in and finished what the second unit did. That was good for us.”
It was the second game of a back-to-back for Sacramento and their new head coach George Karl. Karl returned to the sidelines for the first time since he won Coach of the Year in 2012-2013 with the Denver Nuggets. Karl was victorious in his Kings debut on Friday night 109-101 over the Boston Celtics, but his Saturday night was not as fortuitous.
“The things we did the previous night, we didn’t come out and do tonight,” said Kings All-Star center DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins. “We won the game [last night] by sharing the ball, running, and playing defense. We played the opposite way tonight.
Cousins led the Kings with 21 points in his coveted matchup at center with Jordan. The Clippers out assisted the Kings 31-18 and hit a team-high 14 three-pointers.
Game Notes:
David Stockton made his NBA debut playing the final 7 minutes of the blow out loss for Sacramento. Stockton is the son of legendary Hall of Fame point guard, John Stockton, and was called up on a 10-day contract from the Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-league on Friday.
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